BMW Luxury Touring Community banner

Trailer Hitch Bottoms Out On Dips

3K views 9 replies 5 participants last post by  rovero 
#1 ·
I have a dauntless in line hitch with a N-Line trailer. When going over large dips in the road the bottom of the male hitch on the trailer scraps the ground. The dauntless hitch receiver is made at a downward angle instead of being level. I've set my preload to max but still bottom out. The shocks on the LT have 42k so I'm sure that that is part of the problem. So has anyone else had this problem? And if so what solution have you come up with? I can modify the hitch so the female receiver is higher up on the bike (cheap), put on new shocks Ohlins shocks (expensive), or ask for the wisdom on this board for the best solution.

Joe
 
#2 ·
Hey Joe,

could you possibly share a picture of your hitch assembly as I'm just in the process of designing a lower luggage rack that is fastened in the Dauntless receiver. I bought my hitch used from an ex-LT rider and I have understood that he had this unit custom built. So I'm not sure how your system looks like.
I am just wondering how much higher should I install the luggage rack in order to avoid the scraping effect.
So far I have not ridden with my hitch (and I have no trailer) as I am planning to start with the luggage rack at first.

Here is a picture of my hitch just laying on the floor. Does yours look like this?

Regards
 

Attachments

#7 ·
rovero said:
Hope this helps. If anyone else with a dauntless can take a measurement it would sure help me realize what the problem could be.

To Joe and Roy:

This is the first time I see this kind of "angled down" Dauntless receiver. Mine is indeed in horizontal position.

I'm not much of a trailer expert but I was pretty close purchasing a Finnish made Peak Trailer (sold by Dauntless in U.S. by Zenith brand). I asked the trailer manufacturer how high should the ball receiver be installed in order to have the trailer tow bar in level.
Of course trailers are different but this particular trailer needs the center of the ball to be at 320 - 340 mm from the ground when bike fully loaded with two persons + their luggage. Now this is about 13 inches where the ball center travels. Subtract the construction below that (is 3 inches enough?) and you should have the lowest point at 10 inches from the ground.

For me it is difficult to understand why the receiver is pointed downwards from Dauntless in the first place.
A question to Joe: When you have your bike loaded and the trailer hooked is the tow bar still level or is it leaning downwards? If it is level, then I guess your trailer is just built the way that the receiver must be low. But if the tow bar is leaning down then I would correct the Dauntless receiver in level. I know, in your case this would mean touching the trailer part as well, but what else to do?

Regards
 
#8 ·
rovero said:
Hope this helps. If anyone else with a dauntless can take a measurement it would sure help me realize what the problem could be.
Hi Joe,

here is a pic I took today of my receiver in place. In this picture the bike is on centerstand. However, I had the bike fully loaded with two persons (no luggage, but two "full size" persons onboard) and I measured the distance from ground to the bottom side of the receiver tube. The reading was 205 mm. So, if I would have a Peak / Zenith trailer I would need to have the center of the ball about 125 mm higher than the bottom side of the receiver. (330 mm from the ground.)
This makes me wonder even more why the receiver in your Dauntless is pointed downwards...:confused: Maybe it is just your trailer tow bar that is installed so low and it requires the the receiver so low as well.

Regards
 

Attachments

#9 ·
rovero said:
Hope this helps. If anyone else with a dauntless can take a measurement it would sure help me realize what the problem could be.
Hi Joe, it's me again...

now looking closer at your pic I would suggest the following "first aid" before attacking the Dauntless system itself:

* take a measure how much deeper the hitch could go into the receiver if the male part would be shorter. Judging from the picture I would say 35 - 40 mm.

* take out the hitch from the receiver and cut off from the end part so much that the hitch would go into the receiver all the way.

* drill a new hole for the pin

This way your hitch would be slightly higher than before plus it would be closer to the wheel. This might do the difference in helping you out from your dragging problem. Why must the hitch male part be that long in the first place?

Regards
 
#10 ·
Excellent Solution

Ari,
Wow. I should have thought of that. Took your advise and shorten the trailer male end that goes into receiver. Went from 6.5 inch ground clearance to 8 inches. Since I was just barely scrapping the bottom I think the 1.5 inches should fix the problem. I'll let you know after I take the bike and trailer out for a test run. Also I'll think it's time to replace the 42K original shocks with Ohlins. Per my dealer Ohlins would cost about $1700 installed and can be rebuilt for about $100.00 each every 20,000-25,000 miles. The BMW shocks are worn at 20,000-25,000 miles and cost about the same as the Ohlins to be replaced. So since I plan on keeping the LT for lot more miles the Ohlins seem to be the performance and economic choice. Thanks again for your advise.

Joe
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top